RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 A shift to something better? A longitudinal study of work schedule and prescribed sleep medication use in nurses
JF Occupational and Environmental Medicine
JO Occup Environ Med
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP 752
OP 757
DO 10.1136/oemed-2022-108251
VO 79
IS 11
A1 Forthun, Ingeborg
A1 Waage, Siri
A1 Pallesen, Staale
A1 Moen, Bente Elisabeth
A1 Bjorvatn, Bjørn
YR 2022
UL http://oem.bmj.com/content/79/11/752.abstract
AB Objectives To explore whether a change in work schedule was associated with a change in the probability of prescribed sleep medication use.Methods A longitudinal study with annual questionnaire data (2008/2009–2021, except 2019) on work schedule (day work only, shift work without nights and shift work with nights) and prescribed sleep medication use from 2028 Norwegian nurses (mean age 31.7 years, 90.5% women at baseline) who participated in the ongoing Survey of Shift work, Sleep and Health (SUSSH). Associations were estimated using a random effects model, and a fixed effects regression model in which nurses were included as their own control to account for potential unobserved confounding.Results In both models, day work was associated with a more than 50% lower probability of sleep medication use compared with shift work with nights (adjusted OR (aOR) 0.50, 95% CI 0.27 to 0.93 in the random effects model, and an aOR 0.32, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.70 in the fixed effects regression model). Shift work without nights was associated with a non-statistically significant reduction in sleep medication use within nurses in the fixed effects regression model when compared with shift work with nights (aOR 0.66, 95% CI 0.37 to 1.20).Conclusions Day work was associated with a significant reduced probability of prescribed sleep medication use compared with shift work with nights. This indicates that quitting night work will improve sleep and thereby reduce hypnotic use.Data are available upon reasonable request. To access data, researchers are welcome to contact one of the members of the project leader group (Ståle Pallesen, Bjørn Bjorvatn or Siri Waage). For more information, we refer to the project web page (https://www.uib.no/en/rg/sc/120919/survey-shift-work-sleep-and-health-sussh).